Horizontal gene transfer of virulence determinants in selected bacterial foodborne pathogens.

This review describes horizontal gene transfer from a historical point of view, with descriptions of the first instances of the different bacterial transfer mechanisms: conjugation, transduction and transformation, as well as examples of some of the early acknowledged transfer events. Gene transfer from four selected foodborne pathogens: Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes,Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella are highlighted.